India's U-19 stars who made it big

We take a look at some of the stars from India’s previous U-19 World Cup-winning squads who have graduated successfully to the big stage.

Virat Kohli all pumped up after winning the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup in 2008.

Shubman Gill, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Anukul Roy and Manjot Kalra have all made cricket fans look up and take note of their exploits in India's successful ICC U-19 World Cup campaign in New Zealand. Will they go on to make it big?  

Sportstar takes a look at some of the stars from India’s previous U-19 World Cup-winning squads who have graduated successfully to the big stage. 

2000:

The stars of India’s first win in the under-19 World Cup went on to become household names when they made it to the national side. The player of the series was a certain Yuvraj Singh who made his India debut later that year in Kenya before going on to play major roles in the 2007 World T20 and more importantly in 2011 World Cup triumph where he also won the player of the tournament award. 

Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif were among the stars to emerge from India's title-winning U-19 World Cup squad in 2000.

  The 2000 U-19 WC-winning side was led by Mohammed Kaif, who sparkled in the 2002 Natwest final alongside Yuvraj and went on to play more than 100 ODIs for India. Other notable members from this batch include Ajay Ratra, Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Y. Venugopal Rao.

2008:

If ever the Under-19 World Cup needed a brand ambassador, it has to be Virat Kohli. He led the Indian side to its second u-19 WC win in 2008. The skipper led from the front and finished the tournament as the third highest run-getter. Since then, he has added 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy medal to his kitty and has succeeded Dhoni to become the Indian captain.

In pictures: A record fourth U-19 World Cup title for India

Another star who came to the fore from this edition was Ravindra Jadeja who was the joint leading wicket-taker for India that year. The event was the first one to be widely telecast and Kohli became a household name instantly. It also helped him land a contract with the Royal Challengers Bangalore and has never looked back since.

While he struggled initially to handle the fame, the Indian skipper showed how to get back on track and that is something the current bunch, with handy IPL contracts already under their belt, can learn from.

2012:

It was another Delhi boy who led India to its third win in the tournament. Unmukt Chand led from the front with an unbeaten century in the final to guide India to victory over Australia. But unlike the previous two winning teams, no player from this batch has been able to graduate to the next level. The only notable player who has played for the national side is medium-pacer Sandeep Sharma. He featured in two T20s as part of a second-string squad that played in Zimbabwe.